


Lady May

by Mother_Mercury



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Coming Out, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Genderbending, fem!queen, king!au, not like breaky normal breaky angst, teeny tiny angst but not really, two girls in love, you get it?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29341704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mother_Mercury/pseuds/Mother_Mercury
Summary: “I don’t want to be your husband. I’m not a boy,” Joan laughed. “I’ll be your wife.”Brianna pulled a sour face. “Girls can’t marry girls, silly.”“My auntie lives with her wife,” Joan said proudly. “My mum says all that matters is loving your best friend and you’re my best friend.”“Okay, let’s get married,” Brianna giggled.orTwo childhood friends get married and play house but the game never truly ends.
Relationships: John Deacon/Brian May
Comments: 10
Kudos: 20





	Lady May

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This is some soft Breaky I wrote today instead of doing literally anything.
> 
> This little story is based off the song Lady May by Tyler Childers. Great song, please check it out.
> 
> I hope you love this as much as I do.
> 
> I'm on Tumblr @ Mother-mercury44

**1975**

Brianna ran barefoot down to the river as fast as she could after school. Her dress snagged on branches, not caring about the lecture she’ll receive from her mum later. She only cares about playing with her best friend, Joan. Ever since the two discovered their secret river, it’s all she thinks about. She thinks about the two of them dipping their toes in the water, skipping rocks, and smiling all afternoon with her best friend.

Getting closer to the river, Brianna smelled the fresh water and heard Joan’s laughter, making her pick up speed for the last stretch.

“Joan,” Brianna shouted the moment Joan was in her line of vision.

“Brianna,” Joan shouted back. She ran full speed at Brianna and was also barefoot. 

The two ran into each other’s arms, hugging the other one as tight as they could. Even though they played yesterday, Brianna still missed Joan. Since Joan’s mum homeschools her and Brianna attends primary school, the two have to go a whole school day without seeing each other. Which is a lifetime apart when you’re seven years old.

The two walked hand in hand down the river, chatting about their respective days like miniature adults. Their days seem so different and Brianna wishes she could be homeschooled like Joan. Her days are much more exciting than Brianna’s. When Brianna brought up wanting to be homeschool like Joan, her mum simply responded that they weren’t hippies and the conversation ended. Brianna still didn’t understand but she never brought it up again.

“What should we play today?” Joan asked.

“You pick,” Brianna smiled. “You always pick the best games.”

Joan tapped her finger against her temple and hummed. “Want to play house?”

Brianna smiled and nodded her head in excitement. “I’ll be the wife and you can be the husband!”

She already had envisioned using the space between the two trees as their house. They could use leaves and twigs to make stew for them to eat. Use the river to do laundry. It would be perfect.

“I don’t want to be your husband. I’m not a boy,” Joan laughed. “I’ll be your wife.”

Brianna pulled a sour face. “Girls can’t marry girls, silly.”

“My auntie lives with her wife,” Joan said proudly. “My mum says all that matters is loving your best friend and you’re my best friend.”

“Okay, let’s get married,” Brianna giggled. 

The two agreed to get married alongside the river. Brianna smiled from ear to ear when Joan put a flower in her curls. They exchanged rings made from grass and kissed each other on the cheek at the end of it. Joan and Brianna sang a very offkey cover of My Girl by The Temptations. It was a beautiful wedding. 

After it was over, Joan went looking for sticks to build a house and Brianna spent her time cleaning up their space and working on their twig stew dinner.

“I found lots of big sticks,” Joan said, nearly out of breath. “I’m going to build you a huge house and fill it with lots and lots of toys.”

“Let me help,” Brianna offered, dropping what she was doing to help her pretend wife.

“No, no!” Joan tskd. “I’m going to do it all by myself, like a big girl. I’m going to take care of you.”

Joan stood her ground and gathered all the big sticks she could find while Brianna played the role of a stay at home wife. She loved every single moment of their little game. It wasn’t until the sun started to set that Brianna’s heart sank. The two finished up what they could quickly before heading back home, hand in hand. They hugged each other goodbye and made plans to play together the next day, like they always did.

They kept up their game of house for quite a while. Sometimes they played different games, but they always ended up back to house. Brianna didn’t mind it, it was her favorite game. Joan always took care of her. It only became more fun as the two got older. They would pretend to be on a beach holiday and go swimming in the river. When Brianna broke her arm, Joan took time off of “work” to help care for her wife. It was the life Brianna wished she could live all the time, not just after school. This game made her long to be happy like this all the time.

It’s not that she didn’t like her life, it’s just that her life was better whenever she was with her pretend wife, Joan.

-

**1985**

The moment Brianna’s parents' house was out of her sight, she took off her shoes and booked it down to the river. She had lied and said she was going to the library and she wasn’t going to let herself get caught. Her mum told her she was too young to be running around without shoes. She was too old to be playing by the river. She was too smart to be hanging around Joan. Brianna always assumed her parents would grow out of not liking Joan, but she was wrong.

It seemed the more they disliked Joan, the more Brianna liked Joan. They have become as thick as thieves and are only ever not together when they're in school. They don’t play little kid games like house anymore, but they still like to act like pretend wives. It’s still Brianna’s favorite escape from reality. They walk around the shops with Joan and pick out produce to bring down the river for their hangout. Joan has a bold sense of fashion so she’s been helping Brianna upgrade her wardrobe. They go to discos together and only dance with each other. When boys ask them to dance, they tell them that they're already married and giggle to each other.

It’s a silly game they play. Brianna knows they won’t play it forever, they’ll eventually have real husbands and real lives to live. So, for now she wants to play it for as long as they can.

As she walked up to the river, Joan was sitting along the riverbank with her legs in the water. Brianna tossed her shoes and joined Joan down on the ground. Joan rested her head on Brianna’s shoulder and the two sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Enjoying the smell of the freshwater and the sounds of nature.

“My parents want me to go away for Uni,” Brianna said softly. 

“Do you?”

“I don’t know,” Brianna said honestly. “Can’t leave my pretend wife behind. Maybe you can come with me and we can move into a flat together. If I don’t tell my parents about you coming, they will probably pay for it.”

Joan sighed. “I have money saved up and I was thinking about traveling around Europe a bit. Was gonna ask you to come, I have enough for both of us. We can get out of this small town and go see the world. It’s so much better than being stuck here.”

“I have to go to Uni,” Brian frowned. 

“You don’t have to be anything you don’t want to be,” Joan said, falling backwards and laying on the ground. “Stop letting your parents and the world mold you into something you don’t want to be.”

Brianna laid down on the ground with Joan, clasping her hand with Joan’s. “You go and see the world, the world deserves to see you. I’ll go to Uni and then I’ll get a job to take care of you. It’s only four years.”

The two girls looked at each other with tears in their eyes. Brianna never thought the day would come where she would be what feels like a lifetime away from Joan. She wishes she could tell her parents to fuck right off and leave with Joan. But that’s not how life works. She’s always been told you go to Uni, get a job, fall in love with a man, have babies, and then stay home to run the house. She can’t do any of that if she’s gallivanting around Europe with Joan.

“I’ll send you postcards from every city,” Joan said as tears fell from her eyes. “I’ll call you as often as I can. Bloody hell Bri, I’m gonna fucking miss you. I love you.”

“You better! Don’t go finding a pretend wife while you’re out there,” Brianna playfully teased. “I love you, Joan.”

Brianna kissed Joan on the cheek and the two cried together down by the river. Brianna already found herself praying for the next four years to fly by.

-

At first, the two talked on the phone once a week. Brianna’s parents scolded her for the long distance calls but that didn’t stop her. Brianna’s fridge was covered in colorful postcards from Joan. Brianna loved hearing all about Joan’s odd jobs she picked up and all about her crazy experiences. Hearing Joan speak about her adventure made Brianna long for own adventure with Joan. Brianna's life wasn’t boring at Uni, just not necessarily the life she wanted.

It wasn’t until their weekly phone a year later that things started to change.

“I met this lad at a disco,” Brianna said casually. “He’s got very kind eyes and wants to be a Doctor.”

“Did you tell him you have a wife already,” Joan joked.

“No,” Brianna said, her body was riddled with nerves and she didn’t know why. “He asked me out and I said yes.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m happy for you, Brianna,” Joan said quickly. “Someone behind me needs the phone for an emergency, I’ll call soon.”

Joan hung up before Brianna could answer. At first, she didn’t think too much into it. The two still talked on the phone but the conversation didn’t last long after Brianna brought up her boyfriend. It was hard for Brianna not to talk about him, she saw him often and he was becoming a big part of her life. The phone calls and postcards became less frequent then they stopped all together.

Brianna started to feel alone. Even when she was with her boyfriend, Peter, she felt alone. He didn’t understand why Brianna was upset. He didn’t seem to understand Brianna at all. She wanted nothing to do than to talk to the person who understood her best, but that person clearly didn’t want to talk to her. She clutched a polaroid of her and John against her chest in bed and cursed herself for not going with Joan.

-

**1989**

A week before her Uni graduation, Brianna received a postcard from Joan. 

_Congratulations on finishing Uni._   
_Very proud of you._   
_Joan xxx_

Brianna stared at the postcard and cried. Eight bloody words after not talking for two years. Over ten years of friendship and she gets eight bloody words with no explanation. Her boyfriend saw her crying in the kitchen and pulled her into his arms.

“You need to forget about her,” Peter said softly. “You and I are going to build a life together. We’re going to get married, I’ll buy you a house, and we are going to have lots of babies.”

Brianna felt sick to her stomach at her life becoming that. It seemed so dull and boring. Maybe she feels that way cos Joan is no longer in her life. It doesn’t matter, this is the life Brianna has to live.

“Sounds wonderful,” Brianna lied with a forced smile.

Once she was back home, Brianna’s parents immediately fell in love with Peter and their plans. Harold gave Peter his blessing and Brianna felt as if she was given a prison sentence. Her mum started planning the wedding while Peter and her dad went looking at houses. It was like everyone else was planning her life and she didn’t have a single say in anything.

~~_Wear this._ ~~   
~~_Do this._ ~~   
~~_Say that._ ~~

Joan's voice filled her head. _You don’t have to be anything you don’t want to be._

Alone for the first time in a long time, Brianna broke down. She was exhausted from being molded into this person she’s not. Her heart has been broken for nearly three years and no one seemed to care or notice. She was so angry with Joan that she wanted to scream at the sun. Overwhelmed with everything, Brianna ran out her parents house shoeless and with tears in her eyes. She ran as fast she could, almost like she was trying to outrun this life they wanted her to live.

She reached the river and let out a scream.

“Jesus Christ, Bri,” Joan said, scaring the absolute life out of Brianna. “Are you okay.”

Brianna couldn’t answer, her chest was heaving and she felt like she might throw up. A bigger part of her was convinced that her eyes were deceiving her. There is absolutely no way Joan is standing in front of her. There is not a chance in hell that Joan is wrapping her tightly in her arms and running a soothing hand up and down her back. She’s gone mad to think that Joan is whispering in her ear that everything is okay.

Once Brianna composed herself, she pushed Joan away. “I thought you died or something. You stopped calling. The postcards stopped. What the hell, Joan?”

“Bri,” Joan said softly.

“Don’t fucking ‘Bri’ me,” Brianna spat, she hated how angry she was. “Nothing for two years and then you send me a postcard with eight lousy words. Do you understand how bloody miserable I was without you. I needed you.”

Brianna’s heart hurt at the painful look on Joan’s face.

“Do you know how miserable I was listening to you tell me how happy you were with your boyfriend?” Joan said, her voice cracking.

Both of them were crying now.

“Happy? I’m so far from happy,” Brianna explained, stepping a bit closer to Joan. “They’re planning our wedding and I’m bloody miserable. I've spent my whole letting people decide what is supposed to make me happy. What makes me happy is you, Joan. I love you. I want to be with you.”

Brianna closed the small gap between them and kissed Joan. Her stomach filled with butterflies just like it was they got married all those years ago. 

“Let’s run away. Let’s go now,” Brianna said into Joan’s lips. “I’ll take care of you, just like you took care of me. You’re my wife and I’m going to take care of you.”

“Bri,” Joan cooed. “You have no idea how beautiful the world is. It’s big and colorful. We’re going to be so happy together. I’m so in love with you.”

“I’m so in love with you,” Brianna sighed.

As the two ladies walked in the opposite direction of Brianna’s parent house, Brianna felt a weight taken off her shoulders. Brianna’s parents planted her roots without asking and Joan cut through them. Effectively freeing Brianna from a life she thought she had to live.

And Brianna couldn’t wait to plant her roots with Joan wherever the two of them end up.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading.   
> Thank you for any kudos or comments you leave, means the world to me.   
> I love you all :')


End file.
